Lest We Forget
by Tabithatibi
Summary: A series of memories leading up to Violet and Quigley's wedding. Thanks, and please read! Tabs :D
1. The End

_Hello! Here's another story - but this one is not going to be a one-shot! I hope you enjoy this!_

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The End

Violet's eyes were wide as she glanced nervously around. Awkwardly, she tucked a lock of silky hair behind her ear, glancing over her shoulder as she did so. Isadora grinned reassuringly, and Violet turned back. It was strange; you'd think that after all those years she would have become used to the constant staring, the whispers and surreptitious glances. But she hadn't. At least now they weren't cruel stares and frosty glances with mocking and gossiping whispers hidden behind them. No, now they were warm, inviting gazes, that made Violet swell with unexpected happiness. With a nervous smile, Violet stepped forward. One step, then another.

She looked ahead, and beamed at the man in front of her. He smiled back, and suddenly Violet wanted nothing more than to run forwards and hug him. Yes, she would hug Quigley Quagmire for everything he had ever done for her. She would hug him for recognising her in the mountains, for screaming her name as they were torn apart, for mentioning her in his telegram, and for never giving up on her, however long he had to wait. Another step. Then she would kiss him, as a way of saying thank you for all the white roses he had given her, for all the nights he had spent waiting in the rain, and for ever asking her to marry him.

Two more steps, and she had reached him. She clutched her bouquet tightly, her long fingers pressing into the flower-stems with unnecessary force. Leaning close to him, she whispered three words. It was untraditional, unorthodox and quite probably inappropriate, but Violet really couldn't care less.

'_I love you_.'

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_So, I'm going to have various memories leading up to their marriage. If you have any ideas PLEASE, PLEASE tell me!_

_Tabs :D  
_


	2. Content

_Hello, hello, hello! It's memory number one. A bit weird, but whatever. :P_

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Content

_'Here we are, Miss.'_

_The taxi juddered to a reluctant standstill, the wind-screen wipers smearing across the glass one last time while in the back of the car, Violet Baudelaire turned away from the window, fishing in her pocket for money._

_The cab-driver swivelled round in his seat, throwing Violet a slightly apologetic glance as he held out his hand to her, palm open. Hastily, Violet poured a jumble of coins into the man's hand, hardly watching as his thick fingers closed over the assortment of dull metal disks._

_Fumbling slightly, Violet made to open her door, only to be stopped by the cab-driver once more._

_'Here – are you all right? You seem kinda … nervous?'_

_'Oh – I'm fine. Thank you,' said Violet politely, pushing open the door and stepping out into the biting November air._

_The cab-door swung shut behind her, and she spun round, watching with faint discomfort as the driver retreated to become a dark silhouette, lost to her now forever just like so many other things from her past. _

_If she spoke the truth, Violet didn't know what she was doing here. Her siblings saw this as a place of bad luck; they didn't like to come here any more, preferring instead to visit parks and museums, libraries and restaurants, even other beaches. And yet … and yet Violet had felt drawn to this spot ever since they had left the island. She really had no idea why. Her fascination with the place almost scared her, but at the same time, she couldn't get it out of her head. When she closed her eyes to sleep, she saw frothing black waves, the distinct tang of salt fresh on her tongue. _

_Maybe it was because she and Briny Beach went back farther than she could remember. Ever since she was a tiny baby, her parents had taken her here for treats; later she had been the one taking Klaus and Sunny to the beach. It felt to her like a connection to her parents, a way to keep contact with them. It was, she reflected sadly, turning away from the cab to face the sea, something Klaus and Sunny would never understand. Sure, they had come here with their parents too, but never alone. Not like Violet had. _

_With a shaky breath, Violet took the first step on to the sand, letting her hair be blown wild by the wind as she walked, upright and confident, towards the shore. The sound of the waves rushing over the rocks seemed amplified to Violet, the world around her merging to become a grey-black blur as she sank down to sit on a rock at the water's edge._

_Violet had no idea how long she sat there, alone and cold, staring at the ocean's waves. It couldn't have been too long, though, because the light had not dimmed at all, and the tide had hardly moved by the time __he__ came.  
_

_It was the footsteps that first told her she was no longer alone. They came crunching through the sand behind her, a blunt reminder that there was a world outside hers, where other people enjoyed their lives._

_The footsteps stopped, and twisting round, Violet looked up into a pair of wide, blue-green eyes, so different from the dull colours surrounding them. _

_A single tear slid down the curve of Violet's cheek, falling without a sound on to the sand below. Her lips were parted in a gesture of amazement, though no word came out and she made no attempt to break the silence._

_'Hi,' said Quigley Quagmire, a jaunty grin lighting up his eyes as he sat beside her._

_'Hi,' Violet breathed, completely at a loss for words._

_'So … I've found you,' said Quigley quietly, offering Violet a small smile, 'I'm here, just like … just like I said I would be in the telegram.'_

_Violet broke from her stupor, replying with a laugh, 'That was quite a while ago, Quigley. I think you're just slightly late.'_

_Quigley chuckled, and reached up to tuck a few strands of hair back from Violet's face._

_'But I came.'_

_Bighting her lip, Violet nodded._

_'And I was … I guess I was waiting for you,' as she said the words, she knew they were true. Violet had been waiting for Quigley, waiting for a very long time indeed, and as she thought about it, Briny Beach was just the place where they _would _be reunited. Kind of ironic, after all that had happened here._

_Quigley's face broke into another grin, and he wrapped Violet in a one-armed hug, letting her rest her head on his shoulder as the pair of them sat, annoying the taxi-driver Quigley had waiting for them, and listening as the breakers tumbled around their feet. There would be a time for questions later, for questions such as 'How did you know I would be here?' and 'Why are we letting our feet get wet?' but that time was not now. It was the first time in Violet's life that she had been content to wait for the answers._

_

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_

There ... meh. It's a bit wierd, but never mind. I expect it'll all get better. :)

Tabs :D


	3. Thrilled

Hello! Here is the next installment of this thingymajig. :) I think I'm going to call every chapter after a different emotion or ... something. :) This roughly follows on from where the last memory left off, a bit later.

**NOW IMPORTANT: DO YOU THINK I SHOULD HAVE THESE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OR JUMBLED ABOUT? **

**I may add in a couple from before the first memory, even ... :0**

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Thrilled

_Sunny had always been quite small for her age. It was, she reflected as she crawled along the corridor, quite useful. She wasn't nearly as tall as Violet, though admittedly she was only six. Violet. Yes, Violet had taught her a lot about stealth, and staying hidden. Violet had quite a few good tricks up her sleeve for staying out of trouble (one of her favourites was pretending to be doing something like picking up her ribbon when she was actually eavesdropping)._

_Sunny pressed her ear to the door and smiled as she heard the voices from within. Violet's own tricks were about to be used against her. Ever since Violet had returned from Briny Beach with Quigley Quagmire in tow, the pair of them had spent hours together, talking and talking and talking; Sunny wanted to know what about. Sunny got to her feet and opened the door, being careful to look as though she had no idea that Violet and Quigley were having a private 'discussion'._

_'Oh, hi!' she said brightly, walking to the bookshelf and selecting a book at random, 'I'll see you later.'_

_She left before Violet or Quigley had barely said hello, let alone goodbye, being careful to leave the door open, not too much, not too little, so she had a good view of the room, but probably wouldn't be seen by its occupants. She walked down the hall so they could hear her leave, and then crept silently back to the doorway. She quickly undid one of her laces and crouched down, as if she were about to tie it up._

_Sunny smiled. She was now free to listen. Violet's voice drifted through the open door, sounding faintly bemused._

_'So you don't think she's, you know, listening in?'_

_'Violet, we heard her walk down the corridor. She can't be listening.'_

_Sunny permitted herself a small smile. Though she could only see the back of Violet's head, she could just picture the small frown she was wearing, not completely convinced by Quigley's argument. _

_'OK … So, you were saying … ?' _

_Sofa springs creaked as Quigley shifted position._

_'Yeah … so, um. Right, well. Yeah … '_

_'Quigley!' Violet pushed Quigley gently, laughing, 'What's wrong with you?'_

_'Well, I … Violet, I was wondering if you'd … ' Quigley sighed, fidgeting, before blurting out the rest of his sentence in a rush, ' would you come with me to visit my old mansion? You know, where the fire was.'_

_A couple of moments of stunned silence seemed to echo around the room, before, leaning suddenly forwards with a rustle of fabric, Violet wrapped Quigley in a tight embrace._

_'Of course, Quigley! Of course I'll come.' _

_Sunny watched, eyes wide, as Quigley nervously hugged Violet back, a slow smile spreading across his face. _

_'Thanks.'_

_%%%  
_

_Violet shivered, her boots scuffing through a grey powdering of ashes, while next to her Quigley was standing stock-still, gazing around him with a curiously blank expression on his face. All of a sudden, he spoke, and Violet could hear his voice catch slightly in his throat, so that it came out husky and dry._

_'Thank you for coming. I... I thought it'd be built over by now. You know, what with Esme taking possession of it and everything …' _

_Violet nodded silently, grasping Quigley's hand firmly in hers. He gripped it back, and Violet saw a tear run down his cheek to fall amongst the ashes._

_Carefully, as if he didn't want to hurt her feelings, Quigley slipped away from her, walking over to a small pile of bricks that lay in a forlorn little group towards the edge of the empty plot. He fell to his knees beside them, picking one up and appearing to become absorbed in looking at it. _

_Violet turned away. She didn't want to watch any more. It was all too strange, too reminiscent of her own experiences with fire and death. As she stood in the centre of the ash-covered plot, the wind flicking her hair across her face, something caught her eye. It was a gleam of something, partially submerged in a fine powdering of ash. With a quick glance at Quigley, Violet made her way towards it, crouching down when she reached it. _

_Splinters of charred wood and the crumbling remains of some sort of fabric churned around her fingers as she brushed away the ashy blanket, revealing a metal handle. It was round in shape, and quite plain. Frowning, Violet pulled at it, almost stumbling backwards with the effort. It opened with hardly any noise, and when she saw exactly what it was, Violet was very glad of this. A black chute yawned in front of her, shrouded almost completely in shadows, leaving just enough light to see that the chute quickly turned into a tunnel. A curious desire to head into the tunnel almost overtook Violet, and she was on the point of doing so when she glanced back at Quigley. Instantly, Violet closed the trapdoor. She felt sick. That tunnel led to the ruined remains of her Uncle Monty's house. She didn't want to go there. Even less did she want to remind Quigley of his awful journey through the grim passage below, and all that had happened afterwards._

_Standing up just a little too fast, Violet dusted her hands off on her dress, walking swiftly towards Quigley._

_'Hey,' she touched him lightly on the shoulder, and he glanced round. His face had somehow become covered in dirt, causing the paths made by his many tears to stand out even more obviously. _

_'Hi,' he croaked, allowing her to pull him to his feet, 'let's go. I've seen enough.'_

_Violet nodded, wrapping an arm around his waste. He put his around her shoulders, and in silence, walked away, leaving the empty, ash-strewn space behind them._

_%%%  
_

_That night, all Violet could think of was the tunnel. Her curiosity from earlier had grown, yet she was not sure of the reason. Was it to see the remains of Uncle Monty's house again? Or was it to relive the journey Quigley had once taken? Violet gave a wry smile. No. It was curiosity, plain and simple. Somehow, though, Violet knew it would hurt Quigley. With a shock, Violet realised that she would never be able to do that. For any cause in the world, Violet could not hurt Quigley. Violet felt a slight thrill of mingled terror an excitement pass through her. Violet didn't know what it was, but she felt sure that this was the beginning of something extraordinary. _

_

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Meh ... sorry for the weird ening. But I don't want this to be purely a romance piece, and the tunnel will be quite important later on, I think. But you never know, it could not ever turn up again ... ;) Now, please review! Thank you for all the reviews from the last chapter! And YAY! It's almost Christmas!

Tabs :D


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